This time last year M was on her second cold and I felt like I knew what to do. Almost 2 weeks ago now she got her 10th cold and I knew we were in it for 10 days but we had so much to get done that we didn't really slow down much. I kept her home to try and get her well but I still had to be out and about for the fundraiser and so my husband graciously let me do that and watched her at home. A week later she was still pretty stuffy but kind of in a high functioning stuffy state. I thought she was coming out of it. This last Thursday we even had company over and she was acting perfectly normal except for the occasional nose wipe, I figured she was coming out of it. Friday morning, she woke up on fire. I checked her temp, 100.5. I put her in a lukewarm bath and she perked up sorta, I popped in Winnie the Pooh and she didn't want to watch it, which told me something was wrong. An hour later before she went back to sleep, her temp was up close to 102, so I gave her some medicine to bring it down because I could tell she was listless and couldn't get comfortable to sleep. I also noticed when she breathed that there was a rattling in her chest. The medicine didn't work. Shawn came home from work and I called the doctor. They could see us that afternoon. She wasn't talkative, she didn't want down to walk... and if you know my daughter at all, thats not her. She talks from the time she wakes up until she goes to sleep, she wants down, she doesn't want to be still, so her being completely still was alarming. I gave her a book in her car seat and the book didn't move. She didn't want it but didn't have the energy to put it on the seat next to her.
We got to the doctor and waited. And waited. And waited. Finally we got in and her temp was up over 103. She was miserable, she was so tired but she couldn't stay asleep for more than about 10 minutes at a time. It scared me so much because she's never had a fever like this, ever. All of her fevers have been below 101. They listened to her chest, ran strep tests, and decided it was pneumonia. The P word. In a 14 1/2 month old. Trying to stay calm, I asked the doctor what I could have done to prevent it or where she could have gotten it from because she alluded to the fact that they only usually see this in kids who are in day cares. I stay at home with her.
Mom guilt. Heaping doses of it. What could I have done?
IN this case, nothing. It was a mild case, and it may have been just something that happened. There are strains of pneumonia that spring up from colds and it could just have been that. I love my daughter so much and I hate seeing her like that. It's hard because she still can't tell me whats wrong. She just cries. Shes been telling us when she wants "dink" and "ater ease" (water please) but the thing thats been killing me is the "Maaaamamamamama" when shes just miserable. Even when I'm holding her, she just cries Mama, like shes saying "Mama make it better!"
I know I'll come out of this knowing what to do, and her immune system will be better for it. I am super thankful that the Lord has blessed my husband with a wonderful job with wonderful benefits and that we have a doctors office that is willing to fit us in same day when shes sick so we can avoid the awful Urgent Care in this town. Two shots in two days in the legs to get the infection under control, she's now been sick for 12 days, the longest shes ever been sick and shes starting to come out of it.
I've never been so happy to chase her around. Never been so happy for her to eat half a banana. Never been so happy to even sometimes see her spark her attitude up when shes not getting her way (no we don't let her get away with it but she wasn't even doing that two days ago).
She watched Winnie the Pooh today and danced with the music. She blew kisses at a picture of DJ and Ellen I showed her. And most importantly she gave her Daddy the best second Fathers Day ever :) Lots of kisses and a Mari that feels some better. And some projects we made off of Pinterest :)
I love our baby girl. I love our family. I am truly thankful to God for them. Sometimes the days are hard, lots of training, lots of "No Ma'am!"'s but I know in the end it will be worth it. There may be a first time for everything, and not all firsts are great, but every first makes the second easier to deal with.
Thanks be to God for all His blessings.
